Oreigin
by ChipmunkPatronus
Summary: The Origin Story of Ray Kon: Why Ray left the village, and how he went from a homeless street urchin to a world-class beyblader. (Also found on my Ao3 account, HeartxSleeve)
1. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE!

**An Important Author's Note**

We all know that not much is known about Ray's history except for the fact that he grew up in Bumblefuck, China with the White Tigers and then took off to travel the world to become a stronger blader when he couldn't have been older than fourteen years old. That's when it hit me: _**What would have been the logical consequences of Ray becoming an underaged transient with VERY little knowledge of how the world works?**_ The village would have left him extremely isolated, and his age would have prevented him from developing any real job skills except for beyblading, cooking simple meals and doing a few kung-fu moves. Ray's a smart cookie, but it's impossible to be inherently street smart too—that's something you need to develop with experience.

Since Ray inherited Driger from Lee's grandfather, it's safe to say that he was adopted into his family. It is also safe to say that his parents are dead, or even that he never knew his parents, because they're not mentioned in the anime or the manga. Ray and Lee act so much like brothers because they were probably raised that way. That being said, something very drastic would have had to happen to cause Ray to up and leave the only family he's ever known, and I believe this thing has to do with everyone in the village putting him on a beyblade pedestal. (Enough that the village elder gave him their clan's sacred bit beast over his blood grandson.)

Ray just doesn't seem like the type of guy who would be comfortable with everyone kissing his ass constantly, even as a kid. Kid Ray was never arrogant about his immense talent, and was always supportive of Lee whenever he lost to him, and Mariah when she was first learning to beyblade. He also knew that even though he was the best in his village (I believe Lee has a line in the dub where he says that no one could beat Ray, even as a little kid.), there was still room for improvement. He became hungry for knowledge that the village couldn't teach him, so much so that he left everything behind. What I'm interpreting from all of this information is that Ray was always curious about the world, had enough self-awareness to know that he wouldn't progress as much if he stayed in his hometown, and feared that he wouldn't be worthy of Driger if he remained a "big fish in a little pond" so to speak.

And he's risking a lot too. He loves Lee's family. Also, being Chinese, he knows just how absolutely shameful it is to just desert family, especially if you're the heir.

I had planned to spend the day researching what kind of consequences there are for Chinese runaways getting picked up by the cops…only to learn that the cops usually don't care enough to do that. There are approximately one million orphans in China THAT WERE COUNTED, and the whole issue was swept under the rug so much that it's JUST being talked about. Ray could easily be a homeless kid in China without having to worry about getting caught because the orphanages are so full that they legitimately let children die so that they won't have to feed them. The problem for him will be saving up enough money for a passport—saving up enough to live AT ALL, more importantly. According to one article, 20% of Chinese orphans leave home to see the world. There are at least 50,000 real kids out there like Ray.

For the purposes of this story, Ray will be eleven when he inherits Driger. He needs about three years to get smacked in the face with how hard being homeless is, stumble into the restaurant business in Hong Kong and grow as a blader enough to get discovered by Mr. Dickinson.

I also made up the village and its location, since it's not explicitly said in the anime what it's called. I named it Laohu, meaning "Tiger". I wanted it to have at least something to do with tigers considering who their resident sacred spirit is. It's a tiny, ancient village just outside of Linfen, nestled in the Lüliang Mountains. I picked the Shaanxi Province because, canonically, it needs to be west enough to be away from coastal cities, but not west enough to be desert. The mountains in Shaanxi look an awful lot like the ones pictured in the White Tiger X reunion scene in G-Revolution, too.

According to several Chinese linguistics maps that I looked up online, Ray would grow up speaking Mandarin, which makes things easy for me, but difficult for him because it means that he makes it all the way to Hong Kong only to learn that the majority of people speak Cantonese. That's what you get for deserting your clan, Ray. Grandpa Wong says that you can speak gibberish all day long, cry in frustration and write individual symbols to communicate so that you learn your lesson.

Enjoy! Thanks for reading!

-Tash


	2. The Best in the World

The earth was soaked with the blood of his ancestors. In place of the warriors who fought alongside Byakko, Ray gazed stoically at his opponent. The sparks that his beyblade created in the earthen dish danced in his eyes. He stared right through the quivering man, counting his gnashed teeth even though he was at least two feet shorter. He was deaf to the cheering of his friends. He did not hear Mariah's childlike shriek of encouragement or Lee's heckling to use a deadlier finishing move this time. The only thing the boy heard was the grinding of homemade metal attack rings.

At seven years old, Ray Kon had never been defeated.

The opponent he was facing today was a grown man, a rice farmer named Long. He was drenched in sweat, even more so than when he was out in the fields. Long made one last stand, his beyblade making a lobbing motion as it sloppily careened at Ray's blade, which was in a defensive position. In one swift move, the off-white blade dodged slightly, creating an opening. It then slammed into Long's blade, sending it flying. Long fumed in shameful disbelief, not meeting the little boy's unchanged facial expression.

Winning just wasn't fun for him anymore—it happened too often.

Like a taijitsu that flipped itself over, Ray's expression softened into a grin as he called the blade back to his outstretched hand.

"Good game, Mr. Yang!"

Long let his annoyance simmer, resisting the urge to call him out publicly for what he was—the spoiled, favorite grandson of the village elder. Zhao Wong was a backwards old mule to love a child who wasn't even his own, especially since an almost-equally talented young boy could actually continue his bloodline. However, doing so would only cause unnecessary tension. Too much tension to waste on a pint-sized brat.

"Indeed it was, young Ray." Long bowed. "Thank you for the opportunity to battle against you."

"Don't mention it! It was fun!" He lied.

When Long disappeared into the crowd, Ray felt two arms wrap around him from behind, which made him almost fall over.

"You did it, Ray! You beat him!" chirped Mariah, resting her head on his shoulder like she always did. She had been much more affectionate lately for some reason, and Ray wasn't sure how to get her to stop without hurting her feelings.

"That was so cool!" piped little Kevin, riding on Gary's shoulders.

"You said it. Can we eat now?"

"Oh, Gary, when are you not thinking about food?" Mariah scorned as she nestled her cheek into Ray's collar bone. "You're the best blader in the world, Ray."

Before Ray could respond, Lee punched him in the shoulder.

"Nice job, brother," He gave a crooked grin. "Let's battle each other after chores!"

"Okay!"

As the future members of the White Tigers ran off to go play, Ray's footsteps began to drag. He watched the four best friends that he had ever known race ahead of him into the afternoon sun, Lee appearing to be making a snide comment to Mariah, who first looked back to Ray, then blushed and flailed her arms in protest.

"The best blader in the world…" He repeated to himself, following Mariah's bouncing hair ribbon to the mountain range that separated Laohu from what lied beyond.

'How big is the world?'


	3. Brothers

Ray knew that he was an orphan. Grandfather had told him when he was four, early enough in his childhood that it didn't bother him.

"You were always a curious child." He said after the news. "You would have found out the truth soon enough."

Grandfather had told him that his birth parents were cattle drivers. They had left infant Ray in the care of the community when they were driving the cattle through a mountain trail for delivery in a nearby village.

"They were caught in the landslide." Grandfather croaked, soothingly petting Ray's hair. "Their bodies were never found."

Ray had always questioned whether he was a terrible person for not crying about his dead parents. He had no memories of them, no ties for him to feel anything but compassion for a pair of strangers.

Ray remembered resting his head on Grandfather's chest as he gently pet his forehead down to the tip of his braid.

"You are my grandfather." Ray spoke softly. "Lee is my brother, and Mariah is my little sister."

"Hmm. I thought you would look at it that way. You are wise beyond your years, child."

Ray remembered the sunset over the mountains, the sound of the wind chimes at twilight. It was so quiet that they could hear a beyblade spin from a mile away.

"Your parents were destined to die. And you were destined to train in beyblading using your prodigious talent."

"Would you still love me if I stopped being a good beyblader?"

"Oh, my grandson," Grandfather laughed. "That will not happen. You and Lee will take the world by storm when the time comes."

The rumble of thunder snapped Ray out of the memory.

"Ray! I said, what do I do after I put the rip cord in?"

Ray did a double-take as he was reminded of what he was doing. Little Mariah had her fingers woven through the rip chord as she shakily gripped her brand new pink launcher. Her eyes glowered in an impatient expression that only a sassy five-year-old girl could create.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

Ray held the tops of her hands as though they were made of glass. "Good, you have one hand on the launcher and one hand on the rip chord. Now, all you have to do is pull it. Get ready to say, "Let it rip!"

The girl giggled.

"As loud as you can, okay? Ready?"

Their voices traveled parallel with each other.

"Let…it…rip!"

Mariah pulled the rip chord as hard as she could, but her newly-built pink beyblade bounced off of the side of the dish and flopped on its side. The little girl instantaneously burst into tears.

"I can't do it!" She wailed. "I'll never be as good as you and Lee!"

"Hey, come now," Ray enveloped her in a gentle embrace. "That was your first launch. You can't give up now. Heck, Lee didn't make it into the dish the first time."

"But _you did!_ " Mariah shoved him away, her face red from crying.

"W-Well, uh…by a fluke, but—"

"Because you're the best at everything, aren't you?"

"No, Mariah—you've got it all wrong."

"I hate you!" She screamed as she ran away.

Ray stared at the dish for awhile, picking up her beyblade and gear, feeling like absolute garbage.

"She'll get over it." said a voice from behind that Ray would recognize anywhere.

Lee stood behind Ray and patted him on the shoulder. "She takes things too seriously."

"She just has high expectations for herself." Ray sighed, putting the pink blade in his pocket and stumbling on the word "expectations."

"I know what'll cheer you up." Lee smirked, showing off his black bey. "You game?"

Ray couldn't help but smile, taking out his white beyblade. "You know I am."

"Hold on, my grandsons."

Ray and Lee whirled around to find their grandfather, Zhao Wong, with a short, balding old man that they did not recognize. He was dressed in a Shaolin monk's robes, hobbling around with a walking stick. The boys could smell the alcohol on his breath from ten feet away.

"I would like to introduce you to my dear friend, Master Tao."

Tao let out a scratchy, high-pitched cackle.

"They cannot call me 'master' yet, old friend."

"Indeed. My apologies." Their grandfather turned to Ray and Lee. "Tao is a master of beyblading. He is also a master in Shaolin kung fu. He would like to take you on as his students, but he wants to see what you can do first. Battle as normal."

The boys looked at each other while Lee shrugged.

"Guess we're putting on a show."

"Let's make it a good one."

"Take your positions." The grandfather commanded.

The two launchers made the metal-to-metal sounds of a cocked gun, the brothers locking eyes with each other.

"Three…two…one…let it rip!"

They launched in synchronicity. Ray's blade spun in the center, taking up a defensive position while Lee circled around him in aggravated circles. The black blade smashed into the white one, causing it to copy the motion of waves lapping against the shore. Ray's white blade circled back around before knocking into Lee's blade with more force.

"Lucky shot." Lee spat.

Ray, on his part, just grinned.

Tao stroked his beard. "Hmm, they both have potential, indeed."

"Which do you see leading the team, old friend?"

"Lee has great power, but is less able to balance it like Ray can. Lee has more heart, but Ray has more wit. In beyblading, your heart gets launched in with the blade, so wit can save your skin if your opponent is evenly matched. Of course, Lee could grow stronger than Ray as soon as I head back with you for tea. Young resilience is malleable."

"It's too early to decide who will inherit the White Tiger, and lead our team. It'd be interesting to see them fight over it, though. It'd be much easier to see how they handle challenges."

"You've raised fine boys, Zhao. They are the two most talented beybladers this village has ever seen."

"Exactly, which is why this decision is particularly difficult…"

"Everything will go according to plan. They will make a world-class team when the time is right. Who do you think you'll give the White Tiger bit to?"

Grandfather swallowed. "If I had to make the choice now, I would give it to Ray."

After minutes of attack rings grinding, Ray looped around the side of the dish and slammed into Lee's blade, causing it to smash into the side of the makeshift stadium. Lee stared in disbelief at the beyblade lodged into the earthen dish, about to cry he was so angry.

"Not again!"

Ray smiled and called his spinning bey back into his hand. "Hey, you were close that time!"

Tao nodded and stepped to the edge of the dish.

"You two pass with the flying colors of rainbows on the backs of legless giraffes, my dear boys."

Ray and Lee first looked at each other, then bowed properly with their fists to their palms.

"What's a giraffe?"

"Beats me."

"We should go back to the house." Grandfather held his palm open for the drizzle to splash into it. "It is starting to rain."

Mariah had forgotten all about being mad at Ray when he agreed to have a tea party with her. Lee didn't want to come because he was too cool for it, or so he said.

Ray took a sip of the pretend tea and smiled. "Mmm…it's delicious, Mariah. What is this, green tea?"

"Can't you taste the jasmine in it?"

"Oh, yeah. Absolutely."

After dinner, they all went to bed early since Ray and Lee started Master Tao's training first thing in the morning. Mariah had gone down the hall to sleep with her mother because of the storm. Ray and Lee laid down on their stomachs watching the lightning storm from the futon that they shared. As the rain poured down from the heavens, they were mesmerized by the lightning surging across the murky clouds.

"What do you think Master Tao's training will be like?"

"Dunno. Probably very hard."

They shivered at the power of another bolt of lightning, and the booming clap of thunder.

"We need signature moves." said Lee without warning. His eyes looked boldly into the future.

"I kind of want mine to have something to do with lightning."

" _I_ wanted to do lightning!"

"Fine, we can both be lightning."

They were silent for some time, watching the lightning and hearing the rumble of the thunder.

"Hey, Ray,"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me you'll never leave Laohu."

Ray crinkled his nose. "What's this about?"

"Promise me." Lee stared at him with a powerful force.

Ray swallowed. "Okay…I promise."

Satisfied, Lee turned his gaze toward the sky. "You're my brother, Ray. We can't ever be apart. Whatever happens, we'll always have each other."

"'Till the end."

Those words tasted like copper on his tongue.


End file.
